Driving tips

The van has all the comfort controls for making the driving experience as enjoyable and convenient as possible. 

Adaptive cruise control with adjustable distances to follow the car in front. These controls can be found on the left hand side of the steering wheel and can be adjusted using the + - toggle to adjust your speeds

Lane keeping assist can be turned on/off with the button at the end of the left hand indicator stick

Blind spot warning lights display on the wing mirror when vehicles are on either side of the van

Collision assist will trigger if you’re approaching a stopped vehicle or stationary object too quickly and brakes will be activated to avoid a collision

Fuel Type

DIESEL fuel is required to fill the van

AdBlue refill message may while you’re hiring the van. This is only necessary to fill during long hires where kilometres will exceed 1500km. AdBlue bowsers can be found at most truck stop service stations and fill in the blue cap located under the diesel cap

Van Height

The van will fit under any bridges, shopping centres awning or other low access points 2.8m or higher. If you have surfboards or larger items tied to the roof the height will need to be increased accordingly

Off Road Use

The vehicle is not insured for off road use and therefore you do so at your own risk and will be liable for damages that occur on unsealed roads. Please advise of planned dirt road usage and we can give approval to access for this.

Tolls usage

Tolls are automatically billed to an account linked to the van. This covers all tolls around Australia and the hirer will be billed for these tolls at the end of the hire.

Pulling into camp and setting up

Best setup for parking

For a comfy sleep it’s best to plan ahead when pulling into your camp spot. The sleeping arrangements are designed to have your head at the passenger side of the van so keep this in mind if you’re parking up on a slight slope. You want to have your head at the high side of the slope so angle the van down towards the driver sides (where the fans are located.

Setting up you up your camping mat

If you’d like the mat to cover the area at the back of the van it’s best to place the mat down first then drive over it so that the passenger side wheels are parked up on the mat.

Setting up the awning 

Check the weather conditions first and if it’s not too windy then unzip the awning cover using the long wire attached to the zipper. Please keep the wire off the door as you’re unzipping to avoid scratching the paint. You can use the adjustable ladder to assist with undoing the Velcro straps but please make sure the sliding door is closed and only rest the ladder against the steel track so you don’t damage the van.

The adjustable cords, pegs, and a hammer are located in the grey bag under the driver side storage at the rear of the van. The adjustable tie-down with the red and blue coloured rope is for the front arm of the awning and the black and red one is for the back arm. Hook the cords onto the 2 rings on the front and back arms and with the ladder attached to the roof rack climb up to attach the cords to  the tie-down rings on the roof rack and tighten them.

Plugging into shore power

If you’re parked up at a powered site at a caravan park you can plug into shore power by using the orange 15amp extension lead located in the storage at the rear of the van on the driver side. Once plugged into the van and to the park shore power you’re able to close the rear driver’s side down by passing the extension cord through a gap in the bottom hinge of the door. This will ensure you’re not closing the cord in the door and will allow the cord to move freely if it’s positioned correctly.

When plugged into a household power supply you’ll need to first plug the orange 15amp in to the orange 10amp converter box (located in the storage box at the rear of the van on the drivers side. This box then plugs into the household power supply.

Setting up camp

There’s a collapsible table for cooking outside located under the rear passenger seats. Camp chairs are provided with the hire and there are kids’ adventure chairs located in the rear drivers side storage.

The step is located in the same cupboard as the fire extinguisher and the ladder to access the roof top is located next to the fridge.

While you’re camping

360º fans

There are 2, 4, and 6 hours timers on these as well as 3 speed setting to create a comfortable night’s sleep. Please ensure these are properly stored away before lowering or raising the bed

Air Conditioning

Aircon is only available when the car is running. In extreme heat you can run the car and switched the aircon on to cool it but in most cases the most effective way to cool the van is the create airflow through the van with screened windows and doors open

Airflow control with the exhaust fan

For the best airflow you can sleep with the passenger side rear door open and the exhaust fan set to “air out” and the driver’s side rear screened window open.

Hot water usage

240v use (ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER)

There is a 240v socket (household socket) located at the rear of the bottom shelf next to the sink with a white cord plugged in. This can switched on to turn on the hot water system but only when plugged in to shore power

NOT WORKING?

There’s an on/off switch on the hot water system located under the cupboard at the rear of the van on the passenger side. This switch should always remain on and shouldn’t be switched off but you can check it to make sure someone hasn’t switched this off.

When the van is plugged into shore power and the power point with the white cord is switched “on”, an orange/red light will activate when the hot water system is on and heating to the desired temp. If there’s no hot water and the light isn’t switching on when the plug is switched to on, there may not be any power at the wall socket. This happens when a breaker is tripped at either the point where the shore power is plugged into at the caravan parked site (the pole that it plugs into) or the break in the van has been tripped (break marked “boiler on the blue Victron Easy Solar Inverter system located in the electrics box. Check both these breaker and if neither have been tripped please message Vamuz to solve the issue

12v use (MASSIVE BATTERY DRAIN)  

The hot water can be switched on when not plugged into shore power but it’s advised that this method is only used to heat the water for 20 minutes and then switch it back off due to the amount of power used while off grid.

There is a black switch with a red LED light located next to the 240v plug. When switched on the red light will illuminate and you can check the hot water system is on by checking the digital display on the system. This digital temperature display only activates when the system is using 12v power.

This is also how you check the temperature of the water when using shore power. Switch the 240v plug to off momentarily and switch the 12v black switch to on (red light on). Lift the cupboard and check the digital display for the temperature and then reverse the process to switch back over to 240v once you’ve checked the temp.

Shower

The outdoor shower is located at the rear of the van and there’s a hook located on the rear passenger side door to hang the shower head for showers. If the water is not working check that both water pump switches are in the on (down) position

Toilet use (Must be returned emptied and cleaned otherwise $100 cleaning fee)

The toilet has a blue waste tank solution under the sink to be added to the tank when using. Please read the directions on the bottle of the solution so you know how much to add. The blue solution can be added by opening the lid, opening the lever on the front of the toilet and pouring it straight.

 Please keep the lever that opens up the toilet shoot OPEN when using the toilet and close it once you’ve flushed and finished.

Pink flushing solution can be found under the sink and is added by unscrewing the cap closest to the sliding door and adding it in this tank. Please read the directions and add water to this solution.

Water usage

There is 80L of water when you first begin your hire (70L in water tank and 10L in hot water system.

Please filter all water when refilling the water tank. There is a caravan filter located in the wet-box at the rear of the van. There is also a hose that attaches to the water source and a smaller section of hose (about 1m) that is attached to the outward flow section of the water filter and is placed into the tank for filling.

There is a grey water extension hose located in the wet-box that screws into the connection located under the van on the driver’s side between the front and rear wheels.

There is also an inline filter on the cold water section of the tap that filters the cold water for drinking. This only filters water at the sink and not at the rear water hose where the shower is.

Shower and sink not work but tank full

The shower and the sink run off the same pump and water lines. There are two black switches that both need to be in the down position.

- #1 switch is on the under the sink hidden under the lip of the counter. If you're standing facing the sink it'll be down near your right hand.

-# 2 switch is the black switch at the rear of the van next to the shower. Also needs to be in the down position.

Neither will have a red light come on but if they're in the down position they'll be "on"

Washing up and using the sink

Please try to keep oil out of the sink as this will block the drain and require cleaning the system. It’s best to clean as much of the oil as possible of cooking pans and double burner plate on the cooker before giving it a final wash in the sick. You can use the shower hose at the rear of the van to wash the bulk of the oil and fat off the plates and cooking equipment and finish washing everything in the sink

Packing up

Before driving please check the following:

-   Bed is up

-   Telescopic table is down and the white board is placed away

-   360º fans are stored away

-   Fridge is closed correctly

-   All loose items are stored away

-   Cupboard have the lock strap on

-   Exhaust fan is switched off

-   Step ladder and table are packed beside the fridge

 Packing up the Awning.

 Ensure the pegs are removed. Begin winding the awning in and then slowly move the legs in so that the awning doesn’t dip too low. When the awning is about 50cm from being full wound away (or where you can reach it), adjust the legs and tuck them away ensuring they’re fully tucked in so the awning will close tightly. Wind the awning the remainder of the way in. 

Returning the van

Washing

Please remove excess mud and dirt from the exterior before returning. Small amount of general driving bugs, dirt and dust is fine but if there’s excessive dirt (thick red dirt dust) and mud all over the van please give it quick spray down with a high pressure water gun at a car wash (do not try to clean it with a drive through car wash as you’ll damage the awning and solar panels). 

Rolling up the mat

Refueling

The van is to be returned with a full tank of diesel.

Damage

Please report any damage to the exterior, interior or equipment during the hand over when dropping the van off. Reimbursement of the cost of repairs will be quoted and payment can be arranged once reviewed

Drop off time

Drop off time is flexible but if returning the van directly to Vamuz location we  try to keep this between 6am and 9pm.  Please arrange a time with plenty of warning.